According to the annual Cost of Dying Report by SunLife, the average cost of a funeral in the UK has decreased for the second year in a row. However, the average ‘cost of dying’ was up to £9,200.

How much does a funeral cost in the UK in 2023?

SunLife’s annual Cost of Dying Report for 2023 shows that the average cost of a UK funeral in 2022 was £3,953, a decrease of 2.5% since 2021.

To calculate the £3,953 figure, SunLife define basic funeral costs as including:

• cremation or burial fees
• doctor fees
• funeral director fees
• minister or celebrant fees

Burials are still the most expensive funerals in the UK, costing £4,794 on average. This is down by 2.7% when compared to last year. Average cremation costs were also down by 2.4% at £3,673, and direct cremation costs were also by 8.2%, now costing £1,511 on average.

According to the report, of funerals in 2022:

• 57% were cremations
• 25% were burials
• 18% were direct cremations

Burials are still the most expensive funerals in the UK, costing £4,794 on average. This is down by 2.7% when compared to last year. Average cremation costs were also down by 2.4% at £3,673, and direct cremation costs were also by 8.2%, now costing £1,511 on average.

Once again, London is still the most expensive place have a funeral, costing £5,283 on average. Alongside the national average, most UK regions saw a drop in funeral costs. Only two areas – Northern Ireland and Wales – went up in price. Despite its increase, Northern Ireland remains the most affordable place to have a funeral in the UK, with the average funeral costing £3,317.

What is the cost of dying in the UK in 2023?

The 2023 report shows that the total cost of dying in the UK is £9,200. The cost of dying includes:

• the funeral
• professional fees
• send off fees (such as memorials, deceased estates notices, flowers, catering for the wake etc)

The 2022 cost of dying was up 3.8% up from 2021.

Placing a deceased estates notice in The Gazette

If you are an executor of a will, you are responsible for dealing with any claims against the estate. After you receive a grant of probate, the law recommends you place a deceased estates notice in The Gazette and a local newspaper to find creditors who are owed money by the estate.

A deceased estates notice is an advertisement placed in The Gazette which contains the details of a deceased person and the executor/administrator, so that anyone or any organisation owed money by the deceased person's estate can come forward.

Placing a deceased estates notice demonstrates that enough effort has been made to find creditors before distributing an estate to its beneficiaries (the people who will inherit the estate). This protects the executor from being personally responsible for money owed to any unidentified creditors.

If you don't place a notice and a creditor comes forward after the estate has been distributed, then you may have to pay the creditor yourself.

How to place a deceased estates notice

1. Before you begin: make sure you have at least one of the following:

• grant of probate
• letter of administration
• death certificate

2. Decide which services you want: as well as placing a deceased estates notice, you can also use The Gazette to place an advertisement in a newspaper that is local to the deceased. There is also a forwarding service for deceased estates, which replaces your address with The Gazette's postal box, so all correspondence can be sent on to you while your address stays private. If you do not use the forwarding service, your address will be recorded in the public domain permanently. View The Gazette's price list.

3. Once you're ready to place a notice: create an account or sign in, and then go to 'Place a notice' from the 'My Gazette' dropdown.

4. Complete the form: select which Gazette edition, then 'Personal Legal' and 'Deceased Estates', and fill out the remaining fields, including uploading the required documentation.

5. Submit: submit your notice and check out.

Once the deceased estates notice has been placed, creditors have 2 months and 1 day to make a claim against the estate.

Place a deceased estates notice

See also

The duties of an executor: what to do when someone dies

How to pay for a funeral in the UK

How to pay inheritance tax (IHT)

How much are probate fees?

What to do when someone dies abroad

Find out more

Cost of Dying Report 2023 (SunLife)

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Publication date: 26 January 2023

Any opinion expressed in this article is that of the author and the author alone, and does not necessarily represent that of The Gazette.